The Commerce Department will release data on Wednesday that reveals how consumers were spending their money before the war in Iran forced them to contend with higher gas prices.

Goldman Sachs analysts predicted retail sales would increase more in February than they did in January — but cautioned that “spending headwinds from higher inflation due to the recent energy price surge are likely to weigh on spending growth for the rest of the year.”

While gas prices broke an average of $4 a gallon Tuesday for the first time since 2022, President Donald Trump brushed off concerns about prices at the pump Tuesday evening.

“All I have to do is leave Iran — and we’ll be doing that very soon — and they’ll become tumbling down,” he told reporters. On the ground, however, most signs point to the US getting more involved in the conflict.

— Eleanor Mueller